EPOisDope

First post! I always dread going on rides first thing in the morning because I am consistently slower, but I cannot figure out why. I always eat plenty of carbs the night before, and make sure to drink plenty of water before leaving the house. If I'm out the door within 30 minutes or so of waking up, I ALWAYS generate 5 - 10% less watts than if I wait for a couple of hours before departing. If I wait for 2 or 3 hours, even without eating, I do just fine. It does seem to take me a while to loosen up in the morning. That's very apparent when I do go on an early ride - my back, neck, shoulders, hamstrings, etc are much tighter than normal; however, even when I eventually loosen up, I still feel like I'm pedaling through mud. My rides are typically 2 - 3 hours, and the power remains consistently low from start to finish. It isn't as though the power suddenly declines - it's just never good to begin with. I'm a very experienced cyclist and am frustrated to STILL not be able to figure this out. The only thing I've come up with so far is that even though I've consumed enough carbs, and even though if I wait a couple of hours without eating I'll be just fine, maybe my glucose levels at that time of the day are too low? I don't believe it is dehydration, because when I pee afterwards, it passes the smell / color test. I also don't typically eat while on rides less than 3 or 4 hours. I've been riding for about 30 years, so my glycogen stores are well-trained! Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

Flip Flop Rider

circadian rhythm, or our 24 hour sleep wake cycle. Energy levels and appetite vary from hour to hour, and are unique to each organism (people, animals, and plants)

we all are naturally better, and worse, at certain times of the day. More simply, there are morning people, night owls, and everything in between

So, I am suggesting that there is an absolute specific time in which all riders/athletes are at their absolute peak, and other times they lack a little. I don't think you can train yourself to be at peak performance at your own whim or schedule

canklecat

My idea of successful morning exercise is not missing the toilet bowl when I pee.

I'm not a morning person. Never have been, even when my jobs required me to be up as early as 4 am. Did it, but hated every minute. The only good thing about it was getting off early enough to spend the afternoon riding my bike or going to the beach.

Maybe once a year I'll have a good morning ride or workout, just a very unusual exception to my usual route. My usual routine is to moan "Why? Whhyyy do my cats not bring me coffee in bed?" Every cubic milliliter of my body aches and refuses to participate in "exercise." I drink coffee, read the news to reassure myself that, yes, indeed, the world still sucks.

Sometime around noon I'll consider a bike ride. Usually my peak hours for maximum performance is early afternoon to early evening. Sometimes even a midnight ride will work out best, if the weather is good and my headlights are charged. I just seem to have more zip. And it shows consistently in my ride data.

The main hindrance is losing daylight in winter, so I ride cautiously at night since I mostly ride rural areas where I need to watch for critters. So I'm not usually going for maximum speed unless the sightlines are clear. And carrying two or more lights tends to add a bit of weight and aero drag, but occasionally I'll still turn in my fastest times on the same roller coaster terrain over the course of 20-50 miles.

Clyde1820

^ This, IMO.


Myself, I've always been naturally more energetic, stronger, more awake and have more athletic "zip" in the first several hours of the day. Have also always noticed a serious bump in overall "bursty" energy if ~90mins prior to any strenuous physical effort I've consumed a solid amount of complex and simple carbs along with modest amounts of protein. Assuming I'm sufficiently hydrated, that one change often gives me a solid boost above doing without or eating other things. Can't say that this worked for any of the other running buddies I used to train with, back in the day. They all seemed to be "night owls" themselves, not having anywhere the essential "zip" I tended to have on our early-morning sessions. Took some tweaking over a couple of years, but this pattern worked out best for me: earlier-morning workouts, if going very hard; with decent carbs and mild protein ~90mins prior to any effort; efforts usually lasted 2hrs+. Altering the intake, IIRC it'd knock a good ~20% of my "zip" right out from under me. But, that's me.

Iride01 

I don't have a power meter and I've never really taken into account whether my ride was in the morning or afternoon. I just don't care to go out riding in the morning. Although for organized rides and such, I do.

I expect it gets back to everyone is unique. Some do, some don't.

I do find I tend to put out my better times on some of the hotter days. I'm not worried that others do their better times on cooler days. It just is what it is.

Viere

I have the same problem, just try to change some life habits in order to get more energy

Riveting

Simple...get up at 3am, then by the time 7am rolls around you're good to go for the morning ride.

Hondo Gravel

I’m no morning person .. I need my coffee as soon as I wake up. But when those 100 degree days hit I ride early and I feel like a cold Diesel engine. Start very slowly then eventually start moving along at a good clip.

Carbonfiberboy 

Probably low blood sugar. Accept it. No big deal. If you want top performance, head out 2-3 hours after a meal with plenty of carbs.